Although they're mainly remembered as the creators of the legendary Simplex automobile, Smith & Mabley were better known in their day for their pioneering work in the retail automobile business, having founded one of Manhattan's first imported automobile dealerships, at the turn of the century.

Carlton* Raymond Mabley (1878-1963) was the son of Christopher Richards Mabley, whose Mabley & Co. chain became the Mid-West's largest pre-20^th century general merchandise retailer.

(*Depending on the source, Mabley's first name is spelled either Carlton or Carleton, so both spellings may appear below, although Carlton was the most frequent by a ratio of 2-1.)

Christopher Richards Mabley was born on Feb 22, 1836 in St. Minver, Cornwall, England to William and Mary née Richards Mabley. His first wife, Catherine, bore him at least 8 children of whom only two or three girls survived to adulthood. Around 1875 he married Katherine Morice Hull (with whom he had another 6 children) and in 1877 emigrated via Toronto (where his father set up as a silk merchant) to America.

There he opened a chain of clothing stores across Michigan (Pontiac, Ionia, Flint, Detroit), Illinois and Ohio (Toledo, Cleveland) which were so successful that he was soon able to commission the tallest building in Detroit (14 floors) as his flagship store but died in 1885 (June 30, 1885) before it could be completed. The building was renamed the Majestic Building by a new owner because of the many letter M's (for Mabley) carved into the stonework.

Joseph L. Hudson, the Detroit department store baron who lent his name to the Hudson Motor Co., started his career as a sales clerk in Mabley's Pontiac, Michigan department store, later serving as manager of Mabley's Detroit branch. In later years the competition between the J.L. Hudson Company and C.R. Mabley was as bitter as the Macy's-Gimbels rivalry in New York

Carlton Raymond Mabley, the first son of Christopher Richards Mabley and his second wife Katherine Morice Hull, was born in Michigan on November 11th, 1878. After a public education and course of electrical engineering, Mabley took a position with the New York Telephone Co. before branching out on his own as an independent electrical contractor.

Mabley became acquainted with his partner, Albert D. Proctor Smith (b. 1868/1869), through his older sister Edith, who married Smith on June 29, 1896.

Born in 1869 to Cornelius and Emma J. Smith, Albert D. Proctor Smith, was the son of a well-known provision broker at the New York Produce Exchange. Cornelius Smith (b. 1839), and his brother (Chas. H. Smith) shared an office at 115 Broad St.

After attending college, A.D.P. Smith became a member of the Consolidated Stock and Petroleum Exchange, located at the southeast corner of Broad and Beaver Streets in the Wall St. financial district.

Business was successful and on June 23, 1902 Mabley married Louise Christine Taylor (1880-1968), the daughter of banker George Miller Taylor and Eliza Maynard (Hollister) Taylor in Manhattan. During the next two decades the blessed union would result in the birth of one daughter and six sons.

Located on the north side of West Thirty-eighth street (nos. 133-139), between Broadway and Seventh avenue, the Automobile Exchange & Storage Co. was Manhattan's first automobile garage, having been organized in 1900 as a sales and service depot for the Winton automobile.

In addition to Smith & Mabley's Panhard-Levassor distributorship, at one time or another the Exchange housed Manhattan's Baker Electric, de Dietrich, Moline, Stearns and Winton distributorships.

The Exchange was highlighted in the January 19, 1901 issue of Electrical World:

"A New 'Automobile Exchange' and Storage Plant.

"The early years of the twentieth century seem destined to witness a remarkable expansion in the automobile field. In fact, to the close observer it is already evident that the movement has acquired considerable momentum, even at this early period. The increasing number of horseless vehicles, the rapidly growing number of repositories for their special care and storage, and the growth of interest in the subject shown by the general public, all tend to indicate the way the wind is blowing.

"One of the first of the new automobile repositories to open its doors for business this century, and probably the most elaborately finished one yet erected, is that just completed by the Automobile Exchange & Storage Company, and which is located at 133-5-7-9 West Thirty-eighth Street, New York City. The company, as its name indicates, was organized to store, charge, care for, sell, exchange and act as agent for manufacturers of all classes of automobiles. At present it has but the one exchange and storage depot, an exterior view of the front of which is shown. The company, intends, however, to increase the number of its storage, exchange and charging depots as fast as the volume of its business demands. It is already preparing to build a depot farther up town which will have more than four times the floor space now available in the one just completed. This second station, it is expected, will be ready about May 1 next.

"The Thirty-eighth Street depot was built especially for the use of the company. It covers a ground space of 100 ft. x 100 ft. It is lighted from the top by several large skylights. The front of the building, seen in the illustration, is largely composed of glass and oxidized copper, which gives a very pleasing effect. This arrangement makes a particularly airy and light depot. Later another story will be added, which will increase the available floor space to 20,000 sq. ft. The building is divided into several sections by hardwood partitions. One part is devoted to a reception room for visitors. This room is comfortably furnished and its tables are supplied with all the latest periodicals on automobiles. Back of the reception room are the offices and back of these are some 60 or more lockers for the use of patrons who keep vehicles in the building. In another corner is a machine shop, furnished with a lathe, drill press, emery wheel, work bench, vise, etc., where repairs can be made. An air compressor and storage tank are also placed in the machine shop. The compressed air is used to supply the required pressure in the gasoline tanks of steam vehicles. Power is supplied to the machines and air compressor by means of a S-hp General Electric motor.

"Artificial light is supplied by enclosed arc and incandescent electric lights. Every precaution has been taken in the construction of the building to eliminate the possibility of fire, and the efforts of the company have been rewarded by the unqualified approval of the board of fire underwriters. This makes it possible for patrons to get the lowest fire insurance rate on their vehicles.

"Another feature is the space in the front of the building set apart for the permanent exhibit of new vehicles by manufacturers. This space is divided off by brass railings. The company is prepared to take care of, store, charge and repair all kinds of automobiles, both for pleasure and business use. It makes a specialty of keeping a line of slightly used automobiles of various makes on hand for sale at greatly reduced prices.

"A wash stand for vehicles, some 18 ft. by 21 ft., is provided; also three charging boards for electric vehicles. At each of these boards four electric vehicles can be charged at the same time. Each board is equipped with four Queen-Wirt ammeters having a capacity up to 150 amperes. The current is supplied from the mains of the Edison Illuminating Company's three-wire system. In short, the depot is most complete in all respects.

"The officers of the company are: A. P. Morison, president; Andrew Morison, vice-president; Morris Putnam Stevens, secretary and treasurer; E. S. McCool, manager; J. O. MacDonald, superintendent; Charles R. Smith, chief of electrical department."

The March 1901 edition of The Auto Review:

"The& Automobile Exchange & Storage Co. have one of the most handsomely furnished repositories in the country at 133 to 139 West Thirty-eighth street, New York City. The company stores charges, cares for sells, exchanges, and acts as agent for manufacturers for all kinds of automobiles, and they are already conducting a large and rapidly expanding business in the new department specially built for the purpose, which is 100 feet square. There is a handsome reception-room, and a machine shop furnished with an air compressor for supplying pressure required in the gasoline tank of steam vehicles. A space in the front of the building is used as a permanent exhibit of new vehicles. A washing room for vehicles and a charging board for electromobiles are provided."

The November 2, 1901 issue of Automobile Topics gave a review of the exhibits at the upcoming New York Automobile Show at Madison Square Garden:

"MESSRS. SMITH & MABLEY of New York, who make a specialty of imported French carriages, will exhibit their most recent importations. Among these there will be one 8 hp. Peugeot Victoria, one 12 hp. Panhard Break, one 7 ½ hp. Panhard Tonneau and one Renault Voiturette. Possibly there will also be another Renault Voiturette in the style of a phaeton with rumble. The Renault vehicles it will be remembered are the light carriages which made a remarkable record at the Paris-Berlin race in competition with machines of much higher power."

By that time the firm was distributing Panhard & Levassor, Peugeot and Renault which necessitated a move to larger facilities at 513-515 Seventh Ave. between 37^th and 38th streets.

The November 23, 1901 issue of Automobile Topics announced the firm's latest business venture, the manufacture of the so-called 'American' C.G.V.:

"An Account by a European Visitor

"RETURNED to France after their brief visit to this country Messrs. Charron and Girardot, the two noted racing men and manufacturers' agents, have expressed their opinions of things automobile in this country. Girardot is quoted by his friend Georges Prade in La Vie au Grand Air, and some of the remarks are suggestive by their tone, others by their inaccuracy. But the French have a proverb which says that accuracy is the wit of fools. Extracts of Mr. Girardot's narrative run as follows:

"There was some customs duties to attend to. At 45 per cent, ad valorem they amount to something. There is no tomfoolery with the American customs officers, and those fellows know now, within a hundred dollars, the price of our engines.

"We were not, however, inconvenienced very long by this outlay. Our vehicle was soon snapped up, and its happy owner, Mr. Green, paid the bagatelle of $15,000 (75,000 francs) for it."

"You know that some doubt has been raised in France in regard to this price," interposed Mr. Prade.

"Tell the skeptics," said Girardot, "that we know just what we talking about and are prepared, if necessary, to furnish the proof.

"The agency was quickly established and placed in the hands of Messrs. Smith & Mabley, who immediately found us representatives in all the cities of the Union. Within ten days we also found a dream of a factory for the construction of our motors."

Speaking of the Endurance Contest, the "eternally second " of many races continues: "We went with Charron to the start of this monster test, and it seemed to me, when I saw all those bizarre and monstrous machines, that we had been taken back seven years and that we were at Porte Maillot assisting at the start of the Paris-Rouen.

"Of 80 vehicles which started 30 arrived at the terminus of the test; and that was another surprise to me.

"The victory perched on Mr. Bishop who drove the Panhard machine which Mr. Hearth had in the Paris-Berlin race. The frame had been raised a little, but otherwise the vehicle was unchanged.

"I saw on that occasion my own old Panhard of 8 hp., which here found many admirers who refused to believe it was only an 8 hp. machine since it regularly beat all the 12 hp. opponents. It was with this vehicle that I finished second in the Paris-Amsterdam and in the Nice races and won the Perigord cup.

"But what a decadence! Its new owner had equipped it with solid rubber tires at least as large as the 120mm. pneumatics, and it weighed in this way 1760 pounds more. No wonder, therefore, that when it tackled the first hill its valorous motor, spite of a terrible effort, had to acknowledge defeat almost immediately, and it was found necessary to turn it around and repair to the storage stable!"

The March 22, 1902 issue of Automobile Topics reported:

"O. H. P. Belmont has bought a 40 horse-power Panhard-Levassor machine from I. Newton Brown, Jr., of the Automobile Exchange and Storage Company in New York."

As Smith & Mabley had already moved into their own facility, a leased 50 ft. x 100 ft. garage located at 513-519 Seventh Ave. near Thirty-Eighth Street, it's likely the Panhard in question was either a trade-in or old stock the partners left behind.

In fact things had changed drastically at the Exchange as recorded in the "Trade Changes, Dissolutions, Removals, Etc." column of the Feb. 1, 1903 issue of Cycle & Automobile Trade Journal:

"Automobile Exchange and Storage Co., 135 West Thirty-eighth street. New York city, is now under the management of J. H. Robertson, who is president of the company. Rodney K. Harris is secretary and R. E. Jarrige has charge of the foreign vehicle department."

As business grew the distributorships originally housed in the Exchange had left to establish their own facilities and the firm became an imported car service center and used car dealer. Its listing in the 1908 International Motor Cyclopedia follows:

"Automobile Exchange & Storage Co. — 133-5-7-9 W. 38th St., New York City. Dealers in second-hand foreign and American cars. Est. 1900. Cap. $100,000. John H. Robertson, Pres. and Gen. Mgr.; E. J. Vass, Sec; Geo. H. Robertson, Treas.; Geo. H. Robertson, Mgr. garage and sales dept.; Ed. Soper, Mgr. repair dept.; Wm. Sherwood, Mgr. office. Garage (73 cars). Make a specialty of overhauling and repairing Mercedes, Renault, C. G. V. and Panhard cars, with complete list of parts for same."

An April 27, 1902 New York Times display ad lists the firm's products as 'the new' C.G.V., Peugeot, Renault and Panhard-Levassor. A June 25, 1902 advertisement in the same paper lists Panhard-C.G.V. (new type); The Marionfeld and The Renault.

The Marienfeld was a little-known automobile produced between 1899 and 1902 by directors of Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft in the Berlin suburb of Marienfeld with the erstwhile approval of Gottlieb Daimler. Following his death in 1902 the firm - Motorfahrzeug und Motorenfabrik Berlin AG. - was absorbed by Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft and the factory converted over to the manufacture of Daimler commercial vehicles. It is unknown if Smith & Mabley actually sold or delivered any Marienfelds, despite the existence of the advertisement. Ads in subsequent issues of the Times spelled it Marionfeldt.

It was during that time that the partners acquired a license to manufacture the C.G.V., a high-end French chassis manufactured in Puteaux, France by Automobiles Charron-Girardot-Voigt. During 1902 and 1903 Smith & Mabley's C.G.V. Company of America assembled a handful of "American" C.G.V.'s in a leased Rome, New York factory that formerly housed the Rome Locomotive Works.

The February 26, 1902 Horseless Age reported on the firm's incorporation:

"A. D. Proctor Smith, Carlton Mabley, Emerson Brooks, William C. Reick and Jerome B. Haynes have incorporated the Charron, Girardot & Voigt Company of America, with $500,000 capital, $100,000 preferred and $400,000 common stock. The principal office of the company is at Monticello, Sullivan County, N. Y., and the place of business is at 713 Seventh avenue, New York city, where Smith & Mabley have heretofore done business under that name."

It's interesting to note that Emerson Brooks worked for Quinby at the time and would later establish his own coach building enterprise, Brooks-Ostruk, in 1917. The April 5, 1902 issue of Automobile Topics reported on more details of the C.G.V. Co. of America:

"MORE FRENCH INVASION

"Until sometime last year the firm of Charron, Girardot & Voigt, of Paris, were manufacturers' agents for the sale of Panhard & Levassor automobiles, sharing the right to sell these vehicles with the parent concern. In course of the year Messrs, Charron and Girardot, who are both noted racing men, and who became known to many New York automobilists by visiting that city at the time of the New York-Rochester contest, devised an automobile construction of their own, procured a factory and subsequently exhibited several vehicles of their own make at the Paris Automobile Show in December.

"This firm, it has been commonly rumored, receives the financial support of Mr. Gordon Bennett, the owner of the New York Herald, who has done a great deal to introduce French vehicles in the United States through commendatory articles in his publication.

"According to his paper, the arrangements for building the new vehicles here have reached an advanced stage. The report of the Herald reads as a manufacturers' announcement. It says in part:

"Mr. Voigt has completed arrangements whereby exact reproductions of the models of vehicles built by his company in France will be simultaneously turned out in the United States.

"The American automobiles will be built in the factories of the Rome Locomotive Works, at Rome, N. Y., which already have been equipped for this purpose. For the manufacture of the American vehicles the Charron, Girardot & Voigt Company of America has been incorporated at Albany, with a capital of $500,000. $100,000 in preferred and $400,000 in common stock, all of which has been subscribed.

"Mr. H. Monkhouse, of Rome, who is president of the locomotive company, is also president of the automobile company. Mr. A. Proctor Smith, of Yonkers, is the vice-president, and Mr. C. R. Mabley, of New York, the secretary and treasurer. The business offices of the company will be located in this city.

"The vice-president and secretary-treasurer comprise the firm of Smith & Mabley, the American distributing agents of the Panhard-Levassor automobiles. In this capacity they realized the impossibility of meeting the American demand for French-built motor vehicles and entered into the negotiations with MM. Charron, Girardot & Voigt that have resulted in the establishment of the factory in this country.

"M. Voigt, who concluded the negotiations for his firm, brought to this country a staff of engineers and workmen from his French factories, who will superintend the construction of the American vehicles. These experts are now at work with a large force of American workmen at the Rome factories, and it is announced that the first of their product will be ready for the market in July.

"The character of the Charron, Girardot & Voigt automobile may be judged by the fact that the entire output of the French factories for this year has been sold in advance of construction. Some French engineers have said that it is two years in advance of other models, while several prominent racing chauffeurs have ordered machines exactly similar to those to be built here, for entry in European speed and endurance competitions.

"The American machine, like its French prototype, will be built in one pattern chassis, or working body, and will be fitted with any style of overbody in vogue. The chassis will weigh seventeen hundred pounds and 'the complete vehicle less than two thousand pounds. The selling price of the chassis will be $4,000, and with ordinary tonneau, phaeton or wagonette body, the cost will be from $5,000 to $5,500. Aluminum will enter largely into the construction of the completed vehicle.

"The chassis will be equipped with a four-cylinder gasolene motor of fifteen horse power, capable of a maximum speed of from forty to forty-five miles an hour. The cylinders are in one casting, without water joints, thus preventing leakage. Hot water circulation around the carburetter maintains an even temperature of gas in cold weather. A single bolt controls the inlet and exhaust valves from the top.

"The suspension of the rear frame is by three springs, one being a cross spring permitting transverse and longitudinal swing. There are four speed gears, with reverse shaft, free wheel starting gear, and, besides the hand brakes, a metallic foot brake that is always centered and requires no adjustment."'

The January 14, 1903 issue of the Horseless Age indicated Smith & Mabley would also be producing an 'American' Panhard-Levassor:

"Negotiations have been completed by Smith & Mabley, New York, with M. A. C. Neubauer, American representative of the Panhard & Levassor Company, of France, whereby they secured the exclusive agency in this country for the Panhard automobile. The parts will be imported and assembled in a factory, a site for which near New York is being looked for, together with the bodies, which will be built by J. M. Quinby & Co., Newark. N. J. The output will bear the name plate of the Panhard & Levassor Company."

No further evidence of the operation was forthcoming, although Quinby is recorded as bodying seven of Smith & Mabley's 'American' C.G.V.'s. The total number of 'American' C.G.V.'s actually construct is open to debate. Three is the figure most often reported by encyclopedias and the like although one source claims "196 were built during 1903" although that seem more in line with the entire output of C.G.V's Puteaux and US factory, so I'll assume that the actual number produced in Rome, N.Y. is likely closer to 7 than 3 or 196. None are known to exist.

At the beginning of 1903 the Electric Vehicle Company began prosecuting importers that had yet to join the A.L.A.M. (Association of Licensed Automobile Manufacturers), with the February 4, 1903 issue of The Horseless Age reporting:

"It is reported that a number of automobile manufacturers have agreed to pay royalties to the Electric Vehicle Company, Hartford, Conn., for infringement of the Selden patent, and that a suit has been brought against Smith & Mabley, New York, importers of French and German cars, for alleged infringement."

Smith & Mabley was singled out due to their position as Manhattan's largest and best-known importer of European automobiles, in effect warning those manufacturers that selling an automobile in the United States without a Selden license could prove costly.

On April 15, 1903 Smith & Mabley settled with the Electric Vehicle Co. / (A.L.A.M.) who consequently dropped the suit, and refunded approximately $1,500 of the fees incurred by the partners during their defense. The typical A.L.A.M. arrangement gave the organization 1¼ % of the retail price of vehicles sold in addition to a $2,500 membership fee, the first $1,000 of the commission being pre-paid. The terms of the settlement were publicly reported in the April 22, 1903 issue of The Horseless Age:

"Smith & Mabley Acknowledge Selden Patent.

"The suit brought against Smith & Mabley, importers, of New York city, by the Electric Vehicle Company for the infringement of the Selden patent, has been settled out of court, and the former concern has been granted a license by the Association of Licensed Automobile Manufacturers. The suit had aroused unusual interest in the trade, because it was expected to prove beyond the shadow of a doubt just what rights the association had under the Selden patent. Defendants acknowledged judgment. The importance of this settlement will be appreciated when it is understood that Smith & Mabley are the first of the importers to join the association. The action of Smith & Mabley carries with it the acknowledgment of the Charron, Girardot & Voigt Company, which they control in America."

From that point on a 1¼ % A.L.A.M. licensing fee was paid by Smith & Mabley for every new car sold by the firm, regardless of its country of origin. A.D. Proctor Smith subsequently became president of the Importers' Branch of the A.L.A.M., who remained a force in the US auto industry until 1911 when action by Henry Ford and others invalidated the claims of George B. Selden's 1895 patent.

The February 11, 1903 issue of The Horseless Age stated Smith & Mabley were exhibiting at the 1903 Chicago Auto Show. Advertisements dating from the summer and fall of 1903 state the firm was also selling the French-built Mors automobile in addition to C.G.V., Panhard-Levassor and Renault.

The partners soon discovered that fewer and fewer of their patrons were interested in paying the 50% import duty* imposed on their imported chassis, so they embarked upon the manufacture of their own European-style American automobile in 1904.

(*The Dingley Act of 1897 put a 50% duty on all imported goods, including automobiles and their component parts. The rate was reduced to 45% by the Payne-Aldrich Tariff Act of 1909, which remained in effect until 1913 when the Underwood Tariff Act reduced the duty on imported chassis (but not complete cars or automobile bodies) to 30%.)

The partners' C.G.V. Company of New York had already undertaken assembly of the "American" Charron-Girardot-Voigt in Rome, New York, so they felt they held the needed experience to manufacture their own car, which could be sold without the outrageous 45% import duties that were hurting sales of their imported lines.

Closely based on Wilhelm Maybach's successful 18/22 hp Mercedes, the Smith & Mabley chassis was designed by Gustave E. Franquist (b. 1874-d.1924) and christened Simplex in honor of its German cousin. The partners were able to import many of the required parts and raw materials from the same firms (Krupps, etc.) that supplied them to Mercedes.

In those early days it was difficult to find any motor mechanics with experience in the field, but Smith & Mabley were fortunate in acquiring the services of Franquist who had previously designed a self-propelled carriage for the Buffalo Spring & Gear Co., using a one-cylinder two-cycle engine.

The January 21 1904 issue of Motor Age, contained the following description of the debut of the Simplex at the Madison Square Garden Show:

"The salon d' automobiles was so crowded with cars and packed with people in the limited space left for visitors that moving about was difficult and a close inspection of what the importers had to show still more so.

"Toward the middle of the evening a sensation was created by the arrival at the Smith & Mabley booth of what A. D. Proctor Smith claimed to be the first French car to be built in America. It was made at the firm's factory in this city and has been baptized the Smith & Mabley Simplex. It has a racing body finished entirely in burnished aluminum with brass trimmings. The engine is the same as that which drove the Vingt-et-Un motor boat so marvelously fast on the Hudson."

"Smith & Mabley — Among the handsome Renaults and other well-known French machines exhibited and sold by Smith & Mabley, is an 18-horsepower car of their own construction. This comprises a four-cylinder motor chassis, which weighs complete 2,800 pounds, and which may be equipped with various style bodies, being capable of taking passenger bodies of from two to seven people. The wheel base is 91 inches and the tread 53 1/4 inches. The frame is 114 inches long with a body space of 35 by 79 inches. The motor is hand and foot throttled and is said to be capable of running from 200 to 1,200 revolutions, its normal speed being 800. The water circulating system in eludes an up-to-date honeycomb radiator. The carbureter is of the newly popular form in which the proportion of air and gasoline is supposed to be automatically regulated by the varying speed of the motor."

The same issue also made reference to the fact that Smith & Mabley were no longer distributing the C.G.V. automobile:

"Smith & Mabley, in a circular letter to the press, call attention to the fact that the concern has no connection whatever with the Charron, Girardot & Voigt Co., of America or of France, and has not had for several months."

The March 3, 1904 issue of Motor Age contained the following description of the firm's display at the Madison Square Garden's Sportsman Show which was fitted with the firm's new Simplex engine:

"The great attraction of the Smith & Mabley exhibit, located at the foot of the tank, is, of course, the launch Vingt-et-un, for which a speed of nearly 25 miles an hour is claimed. So much has been printed about this boat that all are eager to see her. A handsome mahogany model of a 30-mile launch is shown, also the design of the $2,000 cup for the match between this company and the F. I. A. T. The Vingt-et-un lies afloat, with engine running and propeller turning, and at times is taken out on the tank, though, of course, very carefully run. The hull is of mahogany, shiplapped, built by Thomas Fearon, of Yonkers. The motor is placed forward, the helmsman sits just abaft it with steering wheel, starting crank and control levers close under his hands, while there is a cockpit aft for five or six persons. The motor is the new Simplex, built for both car and boat work. The firm will soon have out the first of its special marine type, of four-cylinder, 75-horsepower."

The March 17 issue of the Motor announced that:

"Smith & Mabley will begin to deliver Simplex automobiles and boats in May. The former will be of 22-horsepower model and the latter will run from 30 to 75-horsepower."

In addition to the 1904 New York and Chicago automobile shows, the firm also exhibited at the Boston Auto Show which was held in that city's Symphony Hall. The March 24, 1904 issue of The Motor reported:

"There was a considerable exodus of the local trade to the Boston show last week. Among those to visit the Hub's exposition and make exhibits directly and through local agents were: C. H. Tangeman, of Hollander & Tangeman, importers of the Fiat; C. R. Mabley and C. H. Hamilton, of Smith & Mabley, manufacturers of the Simplex cars and boats and importers of the Panhard and Renault; Mr. Kimball and Mr. Moody, of the Central Automobile Co., importer of the Napier, Mors and V. & D.; F. A. LaRoche and A. L. Picard, of the American Darracq Automobile Co.,; E. T. Birdsall, of the Standard Automobile Co., whose Boston agent showed the Decauville, and E. J. Willis, sundry jobber and agent for the Orient buckboards in this city. All reported satisfactory business done."

The following tidbit could be found in the same issue:

"Smith & Mabley, of New York, are sending out a little story about the foreign-looking aspect of the S. & M. automobiles, telling how it puzzles even expert mechanics." The story is printed on brown paper like that used by country grocers a few years ago when they tied up sugar for the farmer's wife."

The April 14, 1904 Motor Age claimed Smith & Mabley guaranteed the performance of its motor launches as follows:

"ABSOLUTE GUARANTEE

"Smith & Mabley, of New York, makers of the Vingt-et-Un, have taken hold of the question of rated and actual boat speeds in a vigorous and commendable manner, by drawing a contract with the purchaser of a boat whereby the latter is released from accepting the boat ordered and is returned his deposit, if it does not make the minimum guaranteed speed in an actual trial on a measured course."

The May 5, 1904 issue of The Motor Age reporting:

"The first lot of Smith & Mabley motor boats will be in the water by the end of the month. Delivery of Simplex automobiles will begin the middle of June. The company has established in addition to its regular Panhard and Renault lines a Mercedes connection that is adding a considerable factor to its importations."

After their failed experiment importing the Marienfeld automobile, the partners decided to import the real thing as reported by the May 12, 1904 issue of The Motor Age:

"Mercedes on Hand—The first two of the 18-28-horsepower 1904 Mercedes secured by Smith & Mabley, of New York, have arrived and were on view at their garage last week. Others will follow in regular weekly shipments, enabling orders to be filled within 10 days.

"Husky Italian Immigrants—An Italian steamer due Wednesday had on board consigned to Hollander & Tangeman, of New York, a 60-horsepower Fiat of international cup race type and also several chassis. The engine for the boat which is matched against the Smith & Mabley Simplex was also on board."

Smith & Mabley were equally well-known for their high-speed racing launches (aka automobile boats) that competed in numerous powerboat regattas on the East Coast in the early part of the 20th century.

Early automobilists were interested in applying the gasoline engine wherever possible, and the partners are credited with mating the first American-built vertically-oriented automobile engine into a racing boat. Between 1904 and 1906, the firm's motor launches received as much press as their Simplex automobiles.

Records for the 1903-1904 season indicate there were at least 3 different Smith & Mabley 40' launches designed by Clinton Hoadley Crane that were powered by 150hp Simplex motors.

Smith & Mabley-built boats included the Challenger, Dixie, Vingt-et-Un I, Vingt-et-Un II and Simplex I through Simplex VIII - all of which competed in the high-speed boat class, many of them winning motor launch regattas and rodeos between 1903 and 1908. A.D. Proctor Smith and his wealthy friends (William K. Vanderbilt jr. and W. Gould Brokaw) were obsessed with motor launch racing and Smith & Mabley maintained their own launch works on the East River at Astoria, Queens, adjacent to Roosevelt Island.

The March 12, 1904 issue of Scientific American included mention of an earlier Smith & Mabley vessel:

"The Vingt-et-Un - the Smith & Mabley 31-foot racing launch equipped with a four-cylinder 3 13/16 x 5 1/2 American-built Mercedes motor, and a 16-inch three-blade propeller of about 28 pitch – (is competing) for a valuable cup trophy. The Vingt- et-Un, it is claimed, made a mile on the Hudson River, on November 5 last, and with the wind and tide, in 2 minutes 26 seconds. She is rated at 18-horse-power, but her builders declare she will develop 22. Her weight complete at the time of the trial was 850 pounds." 

A.D. Proctor Smith was not the only automobile man infatuated with the motor boat, Detroit's Gar Wood and Henry Irving Dodge also built their own racing boats and piloted them to numerous racing victories.

The July 2, 1904 issue of the Automobile contained a detailed article describing Smith & Mabley's boat-building operations and their plans to win the Harmsworth Cup:

"American Harmsworth Cup Challenger.

"Details of Construction of Auto Boat Challenger Built by Smith & Mabley for International Power Boat Race.

"THE auto boat Challenger was completed in the shops of Smith & Mabley on the East River in New York, Saturday last, and was subsequently turned up so as to be in racing condition in time for shipment to take part in the Harmsworth cup race. The Challenger was designed by Naval Architect C. H. Crane, of New York, and was built in the new Smith & Mabley automobile factory, the main floor of which is at present being used as a boat shop. The smaller auto boat L'ingt-et-Un II was previously launched from the same place, and there is also a third boat nearly completed, a speed boat of 38 feet over all with a 75-horsepower motor, for M. C. Hermann.

"Nearly all American auto boats designed with a view to speed are of one of two types, with a sharp V-section to the entire length of the run, as followed by the Herreshoffs in many torpedo boats and the well-known speed launches Vamoose, Javelin, Mirage and Scout,the after end of the load water line running to a point; or the so-called "torpedo stern" type used in the Mosher boats Ellide and Arrow,the Leighton and many other fast boats. Mr. Crane's studies have led him to follow a modified type, that developed by the noted French naval architect, J. A. Normand, one of the recognized authorities on torpedo boats and whose ideas of construction have been embodied in some of the torpedo boats of the U. S. navy.

"The new Harmsworth cup challenger is of the same general type as the Standard and the French boat Lutece, designed by Tellier. As the limit is 40 feet over-all length, the new boat has a plumb stem, a hackmatack knee faced with sheet brass and brought to a fine edge, the depth from bottom of keel to deck being apparently about 3 feet 6 inches. There is a deep square forefoot, the keel running along straight to the midship section and then rising gradually until it meets the sharp angle of the transom at a depth of several inches below the water. There is apparently a good amount of freeboard, the sides flaring out at the bow and to a point abaft the midship section and then tumbling in until the deck ends in a sharp point at the angle of the transom. The load water line seems rather full forward, but the breadth is carried very far aft, making a long but not specially fine entrance, and this breadth is then held almost to the transom. The transom is vertical, but instead of being square like the end of a box it shows two vertical bevelled faces, the horizontal section being a flat V. The forward sections are round, deep and quite full below water, with an easy flare above to the deck, these growing into a midship section with quite a marked deadrise, the bottom slightly rounded and merging into an easy bilge and flaring topside. All the after sections are of flat V form out to the transom, the round just below the waterline and again in the topsides making them approximately of elliptical form toward the extreme after end. The whole form of the boat is fair, with no lumps and hollows, such as are apparent in most "whittled" models, and the lines are round and full rather than excessively fine. As befits the large and powerful motor which she carries, the boat is able and powerful in model, with a moderate amount of wetted surface for her displacement.

"The forward deck shows a well-crowned turtleback, then there is a single long cockpit with a flat after deck. The motor, of ISO-horsepower, already described in The Automobile of June n, is about 8 feet long over all, the after end being a little abaft the center of the hull. Here there is a bulkhead of i-8-inch bronze, lightened by various circular holes from four to six inches in diameter where strength is not specially required.

"This bulkhead is stiffened by several small steel angle bars. Just ahead of the flywheel, on the forward end of the motor, is a similar bulkhead so cut away to admit of the removal of the flywheel as to form really two deep web frames, also stiffened by angles. Running fore and aft and raking upward at their fore ends are two built-up channel beams about 6 inches deep, and two feet apart, their after ends secured to the bulkhead and one fore end to each of the web frames. The weight and strain of the motor is carried entirely on these channel beams and from them transferred to the bulkhead and half-bulkhead and thence to the hull proper.

"The keel is of oak, rabbeted for the planking, which is of 6 inch mahogany below the waterline and white cedar of the same thickness above. The frames are spaced about 6 inches on centers, every third one being a deep frame, about 1 3/4 by 1/2 inch, with the two adjoining frames, each about 1/2 inch square. Inside each seam is laid a fore-and-aft ribband of oak or other hard wood, about 1 inch wide and 3/16 inch thick, thus making a lap of 1/2 inch on each plank, to which it is well fastened. These ribbands run under the frames, which are jogged to fit over them. There is a light shelf, about 1 by 2 inches, and one bilge stringer of about the same dimensions, on each side. The forward deck is of thin wood covered with painted canvas. The coaming four inches from the gunwale and is of mahogany, about 6 inches high.

"The motor occupies the greater part of the forward half of the cockpit, but there is ample space for one man to stand just abaft the fore deck. Here, forward of the flywheel, are located the rotary water pump, for circulation and clearing the bilge, the two rotary oil pumps for the crankcase and cylinders, and the air pump, also rotary. About two feet abaft the middle bulkhead is a second bulkhead of mahogany, making a place for the engineer, and abaft this is a cockpit about 4 feet long, for the helmsman. The steering is thus done from a point well aft in the boat, clear of much of the spray and with every chance to hold the boat steady by a long sight over the stem on an open course. The wheel is of the car type on a vertical shaft.

"The mechanism for cranking the motor consists of a long shaft on the starboard side of the motor, carried on two brackets from the channel frames, the fore end fitted with a sprocket and chain connection to another sprocket on the main shaft which carries pawls engaging in a ratchet wheel connected with the flywheel. A crank on the after end of the fore-and-aft shaft is operated by the engineer. The reversing gear is large and powerful, with four heavy beveled drums of hide, it is also operated by a crank, shaft and sprocket from the engineer's cockpit.

"The motor is placed slightly to starboard of the centerline, the shaft is of steel, about 1 1/4 inches in diameter, supported by a short bracket just outside the hull and a longer one just forward of the wheel. The bearings in both of these brackets are positively lubricated by tubes from inside the hull passing down through the brackets.

"The rudder is hung outside the hull at the apex of the V transom, the stock is of forged bronze with a blade formed of two thin sheets of bronze riveted together on the edges—the construction generally followed in racing 20 and 25 footers. The boat builders have turned out a beautiful piece of work, the hull being fair throughout and perfectly smooth; the bottom is finished in copper bronze and the topsides in white enamel.

"Though the Smith & Mabley factory at the foot of East Eighty-third street, New York, is built on the river, the conditions are such that the boat could not be launched at that point. A cradle of heavy timbers was built under the craft, and the whole placed on a truck and hauled to a pier at the foot of East Ninety-sixth street. Here a huge marine derrick was in readiness. The boat was placed in a double loop of heavy rope, one bight coming just forward and the other just aft of the motor space, and was hoisted clear of the truck, swung across the deck of the derrick scow and gently dropped into the river on the other side, the whole operation taking but a couple of minutes after the sling had been adjusted. Extreme care was necessary in handling the racer, as the motor weighs 1,800 pounds, while the hull is little, if anything, over 900 pounds."

Smith's hopes of winning the Harmsworth trophy in the Challenger were momentarily dashed after a July 6, 1904 mishap, reported in the July 7, 1904 issue of The New York Times:

"GASOLINE EXPLODES ON AUTO BOAT CHALLENGER

"Flier Was Having a Speed Trial on Bowery Bay

"Occupants Leap Overboard

"Boat Will Be Repaired in Time to Go Abroad to Race For The Harmsworth Cup

"An explosion of gasoline in the fast automobile boat, the Challenger, yesterday, came within an ace of damaging the boat so badly as to prevent sending her to Europe this week to compete on July 30 for the Harmsworth Cup. The boat was being tried in a speed test in Bowery Bay and adjacent parts of the East River when a quantity of gasoline that had leaked from the pipe connecting the gasoline tank with the motor exploded in the bottom of the boat directly beneath the engines. Three men were in the boat at the time, Clinton H. Crane, the yacht designer, who designed the hull of the Challenger; Carlton R. Mabley of the firm of Smith & Mabley, automobile manufacturers, and the builders of the boat, and a mechanic. They were uninjured, although as soon as the gasoline exploded, sending a great flash of fire in the air, the occupants leaped into the water. The boat then was about 200 feet off the pier at North Beach.

"The ferryboat Bronx was just leaving her pier for East One Hundred and Thirty-fourth Street, but at the noise of the explosion and the sight of the three men leaping into the water the Captain of the ferryboat drew up to the swimming men and they were pulled aboard by the crew. The fire hose of the ferryboat was then brought out, and running up close to the burning automobile boat, a stream of water was turned upon the blazing hull, and in a short time the flames were extinguished. The boat was then towed by a launch to the Smith & Mabley boatbuilding shops, at the foot of East Eighty-third Street.

"Mr. Mabley said last night that he could not explain the exact nature of the accident, but the cause of the leak will be carefully investigated today. Mr. Crane looked the hull over after the flames were put out, and stated that the boat was not seriously damaged, and that, with a few alterations, she can be shipped to England on Saturday, as originally intended. The interior woodwork was badly scorched, and some of the beams will probably have to be replaced. The boat had done very well before the accident, coming fully up to the expectations of her designer and builder, having made on one stretch five miles in eleven minutes. it is stated that the boat is able to do twenty-eight statute miles an hour, which would be better than any automobile boat has yet done. The fastest boat abroad has done about twenty-five miles an hour, while the Standard, which holds the American record, has done twenty-three statute miles an hour.

"The Challenger is a new boat, having been launched only two weeks ago. In her first attempt for a speed trial at the Columbia Yacht Club last week, she ran against a submerged log, damaging her steering gear, and had to be repaired. This accident prevented the boat from being sent to England last Saturday, as had been planned. W. Proctor Smith of the firm sailed at that time, as he is to manage the boat in the coming Harmsworth Cup race. This race will be held in the Solent, near the Isle of Wight, on July 30. It will be the second competition for the cup. The trophy is to autoboats practically what the Gordon Bennett Cup is to automobiles, entries being restricted to three boats from each country. Last year America had no entry, but this year Smith & Mabley made two entries. The smaller boat of the two, the Vingt-et-Un, it has been decided, will not be sent abroad. The Challenger, after being repaired last week, went to the American Yacht Club last Saturday and then to the Indian Harbor Yacht Club on July 4 to compete in the motor boat races held by those clubs, but owing to the high winds and rough water the Challenger only went once over the course in the Indian Harbor races and then, having shipped so much water, retired from the contest.

"The boat is a trifle less than 40 feet long, the maximum length for a Harmsworth Cup competitor, and her horse power is 150, the highest that an autoboat in this country has yet been equipped with, although one is now being built with 175 horse power, but the boat is over 60 feet long. Nearly all the forward part of the boat is occupied with the engine, which is an eight-cylinder motor, and over forty gallons of gasoline can be carried. If the gasoline tank had blown up there would have been nothing left of the boat, or of any one in it at the time. She was not filled to her full capacity yesterday."

Although the Challenger was clearly the fastest vessel in the competition, a misadjusted set of points resulted in its elimination during the first round of qualifying. The partner's redirected their effort to the S & M Simplex automobile which was scheduled to appear at the St. Louis World's Fair. The Automobile's coverage of the firm's exhibit at the St. Louis World's Fair in the September 17, 1904 issue follows:

"The Renault exhibit under the auspices of Smith & Mabley comprises a tonneau and a limousine car, both 1903 models, and two chassis, one of last year and one of 1904. The last-named chassis, which perhaps presents the finest specimen of refined workmanship and up-to-date design in the Show, embodies several features described in these pages last April 30. Chief among them is the location of the water radiator next to the dash, and the use of an air-tight bonnet and a flywheel fan in such manner as to draw the air first through the radiator outside of the bonnet, then back again between the radiator and the dash into the interior of the bonnet, after which the air is discharged downward and back through the fan blades on the flywheel. The frame of the Renault is of steel tithing, as usual, and in the larger cars the side members are trussed. The rear axle is steadied against stresses due to driving and braking by two radius rods, whose front ends pivot at a common point in a spring socket attached to the frame, and extending backward, one to the top and the other to the bottom of the case surrounding the bevel gears. Thus one of the rods is always in tension. The service brake is located at the front end of the short bevel driving pinion shaft, instead of close to the gear box as ordinarily. It is encased, and is operated by the torsional movement of a tube extending back from the brake pedal.

"The inlet valves in this and last year's model are mechanically operated, and the lift of these valves is regulated by a device precisely similar to the De Dion exhaust valve regulator. The inlet valve cams act on rollers at the ends of short oscillating fingers, and these fingers are pivoted at their other ends to short arms connected with a rocking shaft controlled by hand. As this shaft is rocked the fingers are moved to or from the cams, and the effect is that they receive from the latter a greater or less oscillation. Thus the motor is retarded independently of the governor.

"The Renault carbureter has one fixed inlet, which takes hot air from near the exhaust pipe, and a much smaller cold air inlet which is governed by a shutter regulated by hand. The governor control comprises a cylinder shutter which throttles the mixture and is acted on in the regular way by the governor. The accelerator pedal when pressed down pulls this throttle valve open, and in this position the governor lever merely compresses a spring which connects it with the throttle valve stem. The governor is fully encased, and in fact all of the working parts of the motor are protected from dust as thoroughly as possible. The cylinders are cast in pairs with large hand-hole at the top of the water jackets, which are covered by brass caps held down by studs.

"Ignition is by magneto, which is driven by a shifting spiral gear to vary the time of the spark. The steering mechanism comprises a bevel gear at the base of the steering shaft, meshing with a bevel pinion fast to-a nut which turns on a steep-pitch horizontal screw connected through a link to the right-hand steering knuckle."

Space for the Simplex was reserved, but the chassis failed to make the start of the Fair. The same issue of The Automobile (Sept. 17, 1904) included a description of the Simplex racecar entered by Frank H. Croker in that fall's Vanderbilt Cup Race:

"Entries for the first great American road race came in rapidly during the last few days before the list closed, and there are now eighteen machines scheduled to face the starter. The French entries lead, in point of numbers, with six cars. Germany and the United States are to be represented by five cars each, and Italy by two 6o-horsepower Fiat racers. Of the late entries two are 6о-horsepower Mercedes cars belonging to E. R. Thomas, of New York, and Isadore Wormser; an 8o-horsepower de Dietrich, entered by Mr. Jarrige, New York agent for this make; the 6o-horsepower Renault, which W. G. Brokaw has sent his driver, M. G. Bernin, to France to bring over here; a second four-cylinder Pope-Toledo; the Packard Gray Wolf, and the Smith & Mabley Simplex racer just turned over to its purchaser, Frank Croker, son of Richard Croker, ex-Tammany boss.

"The entry of the Simplex, which will be driven by its owner, was received after the list had closed, and was saved only by the secondary shaft by gears, and a fan behind the radiator comprise the cooling system.

"The frame of the car is of pressed steel of channel form, tapered at the ends. The cross members are also of channel steel, and these are drilled out as much as possible to get rid of superfluous metal. The axles are of steel of I-section, very strong, and are dropped considerably to bring all of the heavy parts as low as possible. In this way the center of gravity has been brought very low, while plenty of clearance above the road is left. The steering knuckles are particularly strong, although not so heavy as they appear, being bored out as much as safety would permit. Wood artillery wheels are used, and the Michelin tires on the rear wheels are 920 by 120 millimeters and on the front wheels 910 by 90 millimeters. The wheelbase is 106 1-2 inches and the tread standard. All wheels run on ball bearings—in fact, ball bearings are used throughout the car except in the motor, in which the bearings are plain. Almost all shafts are hollow.

"The transmission and differential are enclosed in the same casing. The four forward speeds are controlled by a single lever on the right, while the reverse is thrown in by a lever on the left. The reversing gear locks automatically so that it cannot be meshed unless the forward gears are clear, thus obviating the possibility of any mistakes in this direction. A pedal-operated hand-brake acts on the differential and a lever operates emergency brakes on the rear hubs in the usual way. A second pedal operates the clutch, which is of the internal type, the cone on the transmission shaft moving backwards, or away from the face of the wheel, to come into engagement. Thus the thrust is almost eliminated while the clutch is engaged, though present to some extent when it is out. The spark and throttle levers are located at the top of the steering wheel, which is inclined at a sharp angle from the horizontal, as usual in extreme racing cars. The levers are connected to the throttle and spark timer through Bowden wires, which permit corners to be turned without the use of bell-cranks or similar devices.

"A peculiarity of this car, and one that will doubtless be appreciated by the driver and his mechanician before the long race is over, is that the occupants will sit with their feet in a sort of rectangular well, thus being in a comfortable position and at the same time very low. The motor is said to be sufficiently powerful to accelerate the car with great rapidity, and the gearing is of extraordinary strength, so that all the power can be transmitted without danger of breakage. The top speed of the car, when geared for the race, will probably be about ninety miles an hour, and the construction is such that the changing of gears is a simple matter. Owing to the turns in the cup course, it will be necessary for the racers to slow down frequently, and a car that can accelerate with promptness will stand an excellent chance of making a good showing."

The October 8, 1904 issue of the Automobile made the following brief mention of the Simplex' Vanderbilt Cup practice laps:

"A number of the racing cars went over the course on the Sunday preceding the race, and two slight mishaps occurred. Frank Croker, while driving his 75-horsepower Smith & Mabley Simplex, twisted a transmission shaft and had to be towed to his garage. A new shaft was inserted in place of the damaged one, however, and the car was very soon in running order again."

The December 7, 1904 issue of the Horseless Age contained a detailed review of the 70 h.p. Simplex chassis:

"In general design and detail construction the Smith & Mabley touring car, manufactured by the Smith & Mabley Manufacturing Company, of New York city, follows closely the latest foreign practice. It embodies the principal features of several of the more widely known makes and yet contains sufficient originality in the refinement of details to acquire a character of its own. As the manufacturers leave the construction and style of the body entirely to the purchaser and the body maker, we can confine ourselves herein to a description of the chassis…."

The January 12, 1905 New York Times notified the public that Panhard & Levassor had succumbed to the threats of the A.L.A.M.:

"NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC

"All users of gasoline automobiles and all intending purchases are hereby notified:

"That there has been a complete surrender by the Panhard & Levassor Company, of Paris, France, and the members of that corporation who represent it in New York City to the rights of the Association of Licensed Automobile Manufacturers under the Selden Patent, by the recognition of the validity of the basic U. S. Letters Patent No. 549,160 granted to George B. Selden Nov. 5, 1895.

"A capitulation has been made also by the present American representatives of the Mercedes automobiles herein after named.

"In the future all Panhard Motor Cars brought into the United States by or through Panhard & Levassor or Smith & Mabley, and all Mercedes Cars brought in by Allen, Halle & Co. through their representatives, Smith & Mabley, all of New York City, will come in under licenses granted by the Electric Vehicle Company of Hartford, Conn., under the Selden Patent; with the authorization of the Association of Licensed Automobile Manufacturers.

"Suits have been brought and vigorously prosecuted against the representatives of the Panhard and Mercedes cars for infringement of the basic Selden Patent No 549,160, by the unlicensed importation of the cars named, and this surrender now clears the way for these makes of foreign automobiles to have license-plates attached to them when sold by or cleared through the parties named herewith.

"The royalties on all Mercedes and Panhard cars heretofore brought in by the parties named since January 1, 1903, having been adjusted, Selden license plates will be furnished the present owners of such cars upon application to the agents.

"Association of Licensed Auto Mfrs. 7 East 42d St., New York."

The April 5, 1905 New York Times announced the pending construction of Smith & Mabley's new Broadway garage and showroom:

"New Garage on Upper Broadway.

"The O. B. Potter Trust has leased to Smith & Mabley a plot on the west side of Broadway, between Fifty-sixth and Fifty-seventh Streets, having a frontage of 106 feet on Broadway and being 210 feet deep on one side. The Potter Trust will erect on the site for the lessees a three-story garage. The lease is for a term of ten years and eight months from Sept 1, next at an aggregate rental of $420,000."

Smith & Mabley's Broadway garage would become the first purpose-built structure constructed in what became known as Manhattan's Automobile Row.

The Smith & Mabley story is continued here

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